Biden Administration Plans To Ease Travel Restrictions To Cuba Soon
HAVANA, May 27th Flights to Cuba may soon be expanded, due to steps taken by the Biden administration. The White House is working on a plan to support Cuba and its residents, easing previous travel restrictions that were in place during the Trump administration. With this plan, travelers will be able to travel to locations in the country other than Havana.
A senior administration official tells NPR, “President Biden is also fulfilling his commitment to the Cuban-American community and their family members in Cuba by announcing measures in four key areas which we plan to implement in the coming weeks.”
The island will not be fully open to tourists, however, group travel for educational and work purposes will be allowed. With the new plan, there will be no cap on the number of money people can send to family and friends on the island.
The people-to-people educational travel category came about during the Obama administration and is what group travel falls under. Under this category, American travelers will be able to visit Cuba via organized tours. The purpose is to promote cultural exchange between the United States and Cuba.
According to administration officials, groups will receive audits by the Treasury Department to verify the trip is impactful.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez took to his Twitter account saying, “This decision in no way modifies the blockade, Cuba’s fraudulent inclusion in the list of countries sponsors of terrorism or most of Trump’s maximum pressure coercive measures that still affect the Cuban people.”
Rodríguez goes on to tweet, “Understanding the true dimension of this announcement would require waiting for the publication of implementing regulations.”
During the Trump administration, there were only flights to one airport in Havana. With the Biden administration, charter flights will be able to fly to airports in Cuba outside of Havana.
